Sainz: Result reflects Toro Rosso progress

Carlos Sainz Jr. hailed his Toro Rosso team and believes surging from 20th to ninth at the Canadian Grand Prix demonstrates the progress the outfit is making.

Sainz Jr. qualified in 16th place after crashing out of Q2 but was demoted further to 20th due to a gearbox penalty.

Sainz Jr. ran an Ultra Soft/Soft/Ultra Soft strategy at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to claim ninth position, ensuring he has already matched his 2015 points tally after only seven races.

"If you had told me before the race that I would have finished in P9 after starting P20, I would’ve probably signed immediately," he said.

"I’m really happy to have made it back into the points, I enjoyed it a lot out there.

"We chose the right moment for our first pit stop, going for the undercut, and I then did five or six qualifying laps on the Soft tyre, which allowed me to overtake five or six cars and keep up with the Force India.

"Even if I hadn’t made the mistake in qualifying, more than a P8 this weekend was impossible, so we can be happy and satisfied with our weekend.

"A result like this shows that we are strong and that we are constantly improving.

"We did the right strategy and good pit-stops, so I’d like to congratulate the whole team for this weekend, it’s been great!"